Guangxi Tour Dec 2011 Day 5 Lijiang

The world greatest Karst area is found along Lijiang River which seems like a jade belt twisting between the lofty mountains.

The hour long river cruise brought us along the river in a leisurely pace. On board, the cook sells fried river fish, prawns and small crabs costing about 5yuan per stick.

Pictures shows the late afternoon and sun setting scenes of the mountain and river.

Guangxi Tour Dec 2011 Day 5 Liuzhou to Yangshou

On the roadsides on the way to Yangshou, we were puzzled by the 'grassland' which is defintely not rice or wheat. On alighting, we approached the friendly farmers who showed us the water chestnuts which they have laborously dug out from the hard mud. Imagine acres and acres of mud to dig and then separate the chestnut......

Guangxi Tour Dec 2011 Day 4 Bama to Liuzhou

On the way to Liuzhou from Bama, we were looking forward to eat the famous 'Bama Pig' but could not find a place where they sell it. During lunch at one of the roadside restaurant, we had chicken in a 'washing pail' again (top picture). The 'live' chicken can be purchased from the roadside vendor (second picture from top).

On both sides of the road, there were many strawberry farms where we can harvest the berries and pay.

Guangxi Tour Dec 2011 Day 4

We stayed overnight at Bama. Interesting to note that even when it was chilly at night, there are groups of people dancing at an outdoor open space near our hotel. The dancers only clear the place at 10pm.

From top : view of mountain on way to Bama; view of open space near hotel; view from hotel room

From Bama to Liuzhou, we travelled along the mountain road. We stopped by the side to admire the rising of the mist from the valley below.

Guangxi Tour dec 2011 Day 2 Bama

Baimo Cave is regarded as the greatest Karst cave, with the highest concentration of negative oxygen ion. It has Karsts features like underground river, grotesque rocks, sinkholes. The formations stir one's imagination.

Pictures from top : description of Baimo cave; rock formation looks like Pigsy; view from inside; Phoenix formation; entrance of Baimo cave; snapshot with ancient tree from dinosaur age

Bama has a village which is well known for the largest number of centenarians. The air, the presence of ions, tea, water and the food (mostly rice, millet, maize) may have contributed to this phenomena.

Pictures from top : Picture with the village's oldest 113 yr old man; old man's house; Bapan village which has a river running

Guangxi Tour Dec 2011 day 2

Daxin to Bama

The scene along the way to Bama is made up of mountains and their interesting formations. We stopped on the side of the road to get a clear view of the mountains and valleys.

Pictures from top: Mountain formations 1, 2 3; village market; view of valley from sideroad

Guangxi Tour Day 1 - Detian Falls

The road from Nanning to Detain Falls was long, through the mountains. The scenery was out of sight, something from a dream.
Detian Falls is the largest waterfall in Asia. There are three falls separated by rocks and trees. They straddled the Sino-Vietnamese border with Ban Gioc Falls. Over there, we are one step forward crossing into the Vietnamese border. Along the river, there are many Viet boat vendors selling counterfeit items esp cigarettes.

Pictures from top : Border rock, Vietnam is on the far side; river separating Viet & China; water rush at border; Detian Falls; Detian Falls from afar; Deian Falls pond; Detian Falls up close; Detian Falls seen from the Scenery Road; view from Daxin hotel

Guangxi tour Dec 2011 Day 1

Top to bottom : Blackwater River stop; view of the river; the shack; warmth from a wood fire; our first lunch of cooked 'live' chicken & vegetables; common mode of transport, the tricycle bike.

Day 1 - from Nanning to Detian Falls

My wife and I signed up for a group tour to Guangxi in Dec 2011. It was a 8-day tour starting and ending at Nanning, the capital city.

We did not expect to be chaufferred around for 8 days as there were no other fellow travellers. It turned out to be a very enjoyable trip as the guide, Chen Marn drove us through the rough part of the province to reach the destinations.

After an overnight at Nanning, we were driven up the mountains to visit Detain Falls. The mountain road is long and winding but not very busy. Along the way, the road can get narrower because of the rock fall. we stopped for lunch at a wooden shack where the owner killed a live chicken and cooked for our lunch. The vegetables were freshly picked from the garden. We have to keep warm around the wood fire. A very simple life up in the mountains

Chengdu Day 9

The last day of the Chengdu Tour was spent on exploring the shopping malls. A very cheap retail place at Chengdu is the Kowloon Plaza. You can find very cheap clothings there. Along the corridors are salesperson wearing the clothes, still price tag hanging out, and modelling them.